FIFTH NEW YORK SECTION CHEMAGINATION and CHEMAGINATION AT MIDDLE ATLANTIC REGIONAL MEETING

by Professor Vijaya Korlipara

Chemagination is a science essay and poster contest for high school
chemistry students, grades 9-12, in which they are asked to address
the question, “What innovation or breakthrough in the field of chemistry
will be important in the lives of teenagers 25 years from now?” Students
choose one of four categories: Alternative Energy Resources, Environment,
Medicine/Healthcare, or New Materials and their entries are written as articles
of 1000 words or less that might appear in a future issue of ChemMatters,
a science publication for high school students. The written entries
are received through web submission and the electronic entries were made available
to the judges prior to the day of the contest. Students make a poster
presentation of their articles on the day of the contest.

The Fifth annual Chemagination contest of the New York Section of
the American Chemical Society was hosted by New York Section of the American
Chemical Society at St. John's University on March 29, 2008. This
year’s event drew thirty posters contributed by approximately eightystudents from nine high schools. Some of the articles that were
submitted were not presented in the poster form on the day of the contest
due to scheduling conflicts.

The Chemagination contest began with welcoming remarks
by Dr. Korlipara, Chemagination Coordinator and Dr. Marc Walters, Chair
of the New York Section of the American Chemical Society. This was
followed by the judging of posters. A panel consisting of three judges
interviewed each group of students and selected the top two posters in each
category. Judging criteria included scientific thought, creativity,
clarity, thoroughness, and teamwork.

The first and second place winners
in each category were given trophies. All participants were given
certificates of participation (prepared by Dr. Goldberg).

First Place Winners in
Chemagination Contest 2008, NYACS:

Alternative Energy - Third Generation Solar Materials, Hunter
College High School
Environment -OxyShield: Saving Lives One Forest at a Time,
Locust Valley High School
Medicine/Healthcare – Apollites, Division Avenue High School
New Materials – Smart Clothes, Half Hollow Hills High School West

Second Place Winners in Chemagination Contest
2008, NYACS: Alternative Energy – New Energy Sources: Fuel Cell Car, North
Babylon High School
Environment – Life Without WERDS, North Babylon High School
Medicine/Healthcare – The Global Burden of Malaria, North Babylon
High School
New Materials – Interactive Room: Go Anywhere! Division Avenue
High School

THE FIRST PLACE WINNER IN EACH CATEGORY THEN REPRESENTED NYACS
AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL, AT
MARM 2008, QUEENSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE ON MAY 17TH 2008.
MARM CHEMAGINATION

The 2008 ACS Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting (MARM)
Chemagi:nation contest was held on Saturday, May 17, 2008 at Queensborough
CommunityCollege, Bayside, NY. Eleven teams from New
York, Princeton, and Chemical Society of Washington local ACS sections
competed. They represented seven different high schools. Teams
from North Jersey local section could not participate at the last minute
due to unforeseen problems. The teams were judged on the quality of
their article, their poster display and their knowledge of the subject.
Drs. Dennis Conklin, Gina Florio and Enju Wang, all from St. John’s University,
generously gave their time to serve as judges. They had the difficult
task of selecting the winning entry in each category among a strong field
of contenders!

First place winners received a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble.
They also received the Certificates of Participation and the “Percy Julian:
Forgotten Genius” DVD. All other participants received Certificates
of Participation and a copy of the Percy Julian DVD. Information regarding
the winners from Suffolk and Nassau county high schools was sought by a reporter
from Newsday which was promptly provided..

First Place Winners:

Alternate Energy - Third Generation Solar Materials, Hunter
College High School
Environment - Kelp Help, West Windsor-Plainsboro H.S. South
Medicine/Health - Apollites, Division Avenue High School
New Materials – There was a tie between: Smart Clothes, Half
Hollow Hills High School West and Oh, What Tangled Prosthetic Limbs We Weave, West Windsor-Plainsboro
H.S. South

Dr. Vijaya Korlipara (Organizer of the New York Section's Olympiad) with
Student Presentersat MARM